Chapter 91: 91: Distasteful
[Several Tier 0 Zones have emerged in the Northern Region of the country.]
[The Federation is moving to contact them and stop the chaos from spreading further.]
Aside from that, there were many more news reports about Awakeners, especially the egoistical individuals considered the Princes and Princesses of those noble families, who were constantly discussed by both the media and the public.
There was even a Tier List ranking the younger generation of Awakeners. The list was led by Nyxara, while countless articles praised her achievements and talents, calling her one of the strongest young Awakeners of her generation.
As expected of his girlfriend.
She was always at the top.
’Great job, Nyx. I am proud of you.’
A faint smile appeared on Reigns’ face as he continued scrolling through the news, occasionally checking the rankings and reading the comments below the articles.
Next, Reigns searched for his own name.
But he wasn’t there.
The list ranked the most outstanding young Awakeners, yet his name was nowhere to be found despite everything he had accomplished. The fact that he had literally cleared a gate alone and survived a battle that should have been impossible for someone of his level, and yet he wasn’t even mentioned, turned his mood sour.
His smile slowly disappeared.
This had to be some kind of bias, right?
The days that followed were pretty boring.
Reigns spent most of his time wondering why nobody was inviting him anywhere while repeatedly checking various news channels and online discussions in hopes that somebody would finally mention him.
He knew he had once been considered trash, but his performance in the Zone of Redact and clearing a gate alone should have attracted attention from all kinds of organizations and families.
Yet there was absolutely no mention of him anywhere.
No interviews.
No invitations.
Nothing.
’What the hell is going on?’
Reigns frowned while staring at the screen and scrolling through one article after another.
’Those so-called main characters want to stay anonymous, yet they still get all the spotlight.’
’But why is there no mention of me?’
’No ranking on the list.’
’No name on TV.’
’Not even a single invitation.’
He got up from his chair and rubbed his forehead, feeling increasingly dissatisfied with the situation.
’Is something wrong with my persona?’
There had even been mentions of Barbros and Gunther.
There were discussions about the gate.
There were even long debates regarding the danger level of the boss monster.
Yet nobody pointed at him, even though it was him who broke the hex and helped stop the disaster.
"Distasteful!"
Reigns groaned in annoyance while boiling water in a pot and staring at the bubbling surface as if it had personally offended him.
A moment later, he tossed a packet of instant noodles into it while continuing to complain to himself and occasionally stirring the pot.
While doing this, he glanced at his phone balance.
A huge seven-figure amount flashed on his screen.
"From what I heard, the Luther Family has some fairly experienced people, so shouldn’t I be a nouveau riche by now?"
He stirred the noodles absentmindedly while looking around the apartment.
"So what’s up with this poor apartment?"
His eyes wandered around the small room—the cramped living room, the worn furniture, and the tiny kitchen.
Everything looked painfully ordinary.
"Where is my castle? If not a castle, then even a mansion would do. But instead, I am still living in this cramped apartment."
The more he thought about it, the more dissatisfied he grew, wondering if the world was intentionally ignoring all his efforts.
To make matters worse, his parents had gone missing again.
They rarely made an appearance and disappeared just as quickly whenever they showed up.
God knew what kind of secret mission they were involved in.
At this point, Reigns wouldn’t even be surprised if they casually returned one day after saving the world somewhere.
Reigns bit into the spice sachet and tore it open before pouring the contents into the boiling noodles.
Just as he was about to continue cooking and enjoy what was probably going to be another boring day, the doorbell rang.
DING DONG.
Reigns paused slightly.
He decided to ignore it.
A few seconds later, it rang again.
DING DONG.
DING DONG.
DING DONG.
Soon, loud knocking followed.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The knocking grew louder and louder, as if the person outside had no intention of leaving.
Reigns grimaced and gritted his teeth.
"Damn! Who is it?"
He shouted while walking toward the door before pulling it open with obvious irritation.
"Can’t you wait for a bi... bit..."
His voice died midway as he stared at the person—
No.
The people standing outside.
His eyes widened slightly.
"Darling! I am back!"
Nyxara immediately jumped into Reigns’ embrace and wrapped both arms around him in a tight hug, not giving him even a second to react.
Reigns felt as if soft, warm jelly had melted into his body and sent him straight to heaven.
The pleasant softness pressing against him and the sweet scent almost made his brain stop functioning for a moment.
It took every ounce of self-control he had to maintain a stoic face and not come across as a complete pervert in front of strangers.
A woman wearing a business suit stepped inside and cleared her throat loudly.
"Cough... Cough... Can you two stop for a moment?"
She paused briefly before adding with a knowing smile, "You can continue after I leave."
"What do you mean, stop? We aren’t doing anything embarrassing."
Nyxara immediately chided, refusing to let go as she tightened her embrace slightly.
"Yeah... Yeah. Say that after looking at your darling’s red face."
The woman pointed toward Reigns, who failed to control his embarrassed expression.
His face visibly flushed.
Feeling increasingly awkward under the woman’s gaze, he carefully stepped out of Nyxara’s hug while trying to regain some dignity.
"Welcome, Lady..."
He paused midway and glanced toward Nyxara for an answer because he had no idea who the woman was.
"That’s Aunty Linda, someone from the Federation who wanted to meet you."
"Oh... Great. Come in, Lady Linda," Reigns spoke tactfully.
Such a beautiful woman—it would be bad if he called her AUNT.
Hearing this, Linda smiled broadly and nodded in satisfaction.
"At least someone has some sense."
